


A Demigod or a Witch

by Realsupergirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22681342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Realsupergirl/pseuds/Realsupergirl
Summary: Annabeth Chase meets Hermione Granger
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	A Demigod or a Witch

Annabeth had no time for mortals. Or Muggles, she'd learned recently some folks called them. She'd met Hermione Granger once before, when she and her husband Ron were honeymooning in Rome. She'd gone out for air for just a few minutes and wandered into a Starbucks. She was always drawn to Starbucks from her time living on the street with Luke and Thalia - they had public bathrooms that were almost always clean. 

Annabeth dismissed Hermione as a mortal, but Hermione had made her. She wouldn't stop staring at her, and even though there was nothing about her that the Mist needed to conceal, Annabeth got the unnerving sensation that Hermione could tell she wasn't a mortal. Could wizards smell demigods in the same way monsters could? 

Anyway, Annabeth was pretty distracted at the time. She had to take off on this solo quest. following the stupid Mark of Athena possibly to her death. She had no time for mortals or other worlds. She had to survive in her world. 

But a year later, when the world was safe again, Hermione tracked her down again. Annabeth was dying to ask her how she did it, but she wasn't sure what Hermione was going to want from her. 

She sat, in a London Starbucks this time, holding but not drinking her soy latte. Waiting. 

Hermione breezed in, flustered and her bushy red hair going in seven different directions at once. She was kind of pretty, but not in a classical, child of Aphrodite sort of way. Not even in a nontraditional, holds her own beauty kind of Piper way. She was different. She was interesting looking, Percy would probably say. Annabeth hated that she felt more relaxed with her because she didn't feel threatened by her. But she did. She could feel her shoulders relaxing. 

"Sorry I'm late," Hermione said. fumbling around in her briefcase and pulling out a notebook . 

"No worries," Annabeth smiled serenely at her. "Do you want a coffee?" 

"Oh. I don't drink coffee," Hermione waved her off. 

"This is the third time I've seen you in Starbucks and you don't drink coffee?" Annabeth asked skeptically. 

"Third?" Hermione asked. 

Shit. Annabeth hadn't meant to reveal the other time she'd seen Hermione but not said anything to her. 

"Yeah, I - I remembered after I saw you - I saw you once before," Annabeth fumbled. "So what did you want to talk about?" 

"Why would you remember me? I'm no one," Hermione said. 

Annabeth recognized the type - she was the type. The kind of person who didn't let things go. "Well, I had some questions," she admitted. 

"Questions?" Hermione said. Her pen was ready to write. which made Annabeth nervous. What was she planning to do with this? Hermione had said she worked for the Ministry of Magic, whatever that was. It didn't sound like a newspaper. 

"You can see through the Mist, can't you?" Annabeth decided to lay her cards out on the table. 

"What's the Mist?" Hermione asked, and she stopped writing so Annabeth was sure she hadn't expected that question. Good. 

"You know about the existence of demigods, don't you?" Annabeth pressed on. 

"I've had my suspicions," Hermione said. 

Annabeth was floored. She knew she was stepping out on a ledge by even asking. The Mist kept mortals from knowing about demigods and monsters so well, how could this be? Unless...

"You know, in the magical world, we work hard to keep Muggles from knowing about wizards and witches, about magic." Hermione said thoughtfully. "If there was some "mist" or whatever you call it that did it for us, why wouldn't it work for us too?" 

"I don't know, "Annabeth said. "What are you writing?" She gestured to Hermione's pad and pen 

"Oh. I always take notes," Hermione said. "But I've started a special task force to examine the ethical implications of using forcible means to keep the wizarding world from knowing about us. I'd like to know how you...how your people...or world, or whatever - how they handle it." 

"We don't handle it," Annabeth said flatly. "The Mist just is. But it hasn't kept demigods safe. Monsters can smell us, most of us are on the run and have to live in hiding. I sometimes wonder if mortals knew about us and the dangers we face, would they help us? Would they help keep us safe? If they could?" 

"I've wondered the same thing about Muggles!" Hermione said. "There was a time when some wizards thought they were better than Muggles and wanted to bring us into the open to rule over them. But what if we brought witches and wizards out in the open and asked for their assistance?" 

"There was a mortal woman, at least we thought she was mortal, but then it turned out she was a Seer," Annabeth murmured. Her heart twinged a little thinking of Rachel, knowing she had captured Percy's heart once. Percy was committed to her, though. She knew that. in her head. She just didn't always trust her head, which was ironic for a daughter of Athena. 

"I sense there's a history there," Hermione said. 

"There is," Annabeth looked up at her in surprise. "How did you -" 

"Men are hard to figure out sometimes," Hermione said sagely. "I had my doubts about my husband early on. Whether he could...keep up with me, whether he would - get distracted. But he's stuck by me through some hard times." 

"Percy is the same way," Annabeth said, "I just wish men behaved more rationally, you know? I can figure out almost any problem, but I still struggle to know what the hell Percy's thinking half the time. You know?" 

"Oh I know," Hermione laughed. "Trust me, I know." 

They paused in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't an awkward silence though. It was a moment of connection, of feeling like someone got her, in a way she hadn't felt since her teenage years with Thalia and Luke. Hermione GOT her. She understood her.

"Are you sure - " Annabeth started. 

"What?" Hermione asked 

"No, that's crazy," Annabeth shook her head. 

"Tell me!" Hermione said, and her urgency startled Annabeth. "I mean, please tell me. I've had this crazy thought, I want to see if it's the same as your crazy thought." 

"What if - what if you're my sister? What if you're a daughter of Athena too?" 

"That," Hermione snapped her notebook shut and leaned in to whisper. "Is exactly the thought I've been having." 

Annabeth stared at her. But from her internet stalking, it seemed that Hermione had two parents. She was raised by mortals or Muggles or whatever they were called in her world. How could it be? 

"I have the same questions," Hermione said. 

Annabeth looked at her, terrified. Did she just read her mind? Was this a wizarding power? 

"I found my original birth certificate in my parents' safe deposit box," Hermione said. "They never told me I was adopted. But it makes so much sense. Not because they're Muggles, there's lots of wizards and witches who are born to Muggles, actually. But because they never questioned the wizarding world, they seemed to always know it was there. Most Muggle parents struggle more with that. Maybe what they were really protecting me from was -" 

"- the life I led," Annabeth finished for her. Hermione nodded, looking scared now. She clearly thought she'd said something that had offended Annabeth, but Annabeth wasn't offended. 

"Is there a way to know for sure?" Hermione said. 

"Well, there used to be," Annabeth said. "It used to be that if you came to Camp Half Blood, or this other camp out on the west coast, maybe your godly parent would claim you. But it's gotten more complicated since the war with Gaea. And Athena has always been...difficult, so if she's your mom it could be particularly tough." 

"I think," Hermione said, standing up. "That we should go to Camp Half-Blood and check it out. I can take us there now, if you want." She held out her hand to help Annabeth up. 

"It's not quite that simple," Annabeth said. "I need to find out if it's even safe. How can I reach you?" 

"Cell phones don't work so well in the wizarding world," Hermione said. 

"It's the same for demigods," Annabeth murmured. 

"I'll write down my address," Hermione said. "It's protected but I will know if someone is near, and I'll let my husband, and my roommates know if they see you nearby to let you in. Come any time. Please come, if you can." 

"I will," Annabeth promised. And she meant it. The key was, would it be safe? She didn't even know whether it was safe to give out any personal info to Hermione in exchange. For all the Mist in the world, she still felt vulnerable, all the time.


End file.
